


Dubious Foreknowledge

by ReebaJee



Series: Original Characters [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ? - Freeform, But like she can't tell what's cannon and what's fanfiction, Foreknowledge, Reincarnation, fucking up cannon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-04-24 07:18:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19168435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReebaJee/pseuds/ReebaJee
Summary: After years in Neji and Lee’s class stealing glances at Tenten wondering if I’d take her place, five minutes of relief in finding out I wouldn’t, and two hours waiting, I found out my jonin sensei was Kakashi. The problem? Naruto and Sasuke weren’t my teammates.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking of expanding this for a while since it surprised me with so much feedback in Trail Mix, but it wasn't until the night before an assignment was due that I got the inspiration to continue. Go figure, right? I managed to get both done at the expense of sleep. 
> 
> Anyway, back by popular demand, here's the adventures of Minamitsu Meizen and her little band of misfits fucking up cannon. Enjoy!

The day of team placements arrived and I felt nothing but a pit of dread. My eyes scanned the room for the only Characters in this class, easily picking them out from years of practice. Tenten with her distinctive buns sat near the front looking eager. Prim, superior Neji sat by a window (of course) and a longhaired Lee sat in the back corner looking determined. I sighed and averted my gaze to my fingers drumming on my desk.

Would I end up replacing one of them on team Gai? From what I can tell from my visions, it seemed likely. My memory-not-memories all seemed to point to new variables like myself being magnetically drawn to Characters. Those of us who don’t belong; who recall being ‘other’ than what we are, we’re here for a reason. We inevitably get drawn into Plot. I looked around the room at my classmates, wondering not for the first time if any were like me. And not for the first time I dismissed the idea. They were all too… well, not  _normal_ \- genin-in-training are never normal, not in the way I’d consider the word, but I guess that’s my point. They were normal to this world’s standards, fluent in its culture the way I never would be.

To distract myself from my fears I allowed myself the luxury of gazing about my classmates who aren’t Characters and imagined what it would be like to be on a team with any of them. I didn’t have any time to get to know them outside of school because of all my copious chores requiring me at home but I made up for it with people watching and observation skills.

Natsui Yuhi was easily the most popular boy in the class though mostly only in regards to the girls. To his own fair share of fangirls he coped with their attentions admirably well, claiming he only wanted to be friends yet still managing to make them each feel special. And when Neji coldly broke the hearts of all the rest of the girls, Natsui was the one to comfort them and give them advice. Other boys tended to hide their jealousy by calling him out on his own femininity. This didn’t  _seem_  to bother him much; often bragging about his fabulous aunt who could take them all out without ever touching them using genjutsu. I could see the doubt in his eyes though when he looked at other boys, in the way he moved and especially during spars. With neither a fangirl’s rose tinted glasses or a rival’s proud overestimation, I could clearly see past his seemingly easygoing and confident nature to how he held himself insecurely and shifted on his feet. I could picture him being a considerate and respectful teammate and I’d have bet my favorite blanket that he was gay.

The least popular kid in the class on the other hand, was Tsumu Aburame. No one really liked him. Well,  _I_  liked him- he kind of reminded me of fluffy little caterpillar, or one of those fat, squishy grub things that most people find utterly gross but I think are kind of cute in the way they awkwardly squirm. He was always serious but said the funniest things… usually by unintentionally insulting someone while trying to give them heartfelt advice. Tsumu was a sweetie. I tried giving him pointers on how to get what he meant across better but I was kind of glad it didn’t work. I liked him the way he was and if other people didn’t get it then that was their loss. At least Tsumu knew that I understood him. He was probably somewhere on the autism spectrum. I thought of him as a kind, clueless, adorable, hilariously honest underdog that I wanted to protect. He had a clan to do that though, and I didn’t have any time outside of taking care of my siblings and helping with the family business. It was a shame since out of all the kids in my class he was the one I could really see myself becoming friends with. Being on a team with him would probably be exasperating at times and totally worth it at others.

Moving on, my eyes started to wander on to another target classmate to contemplate when our harried homeroom teacher finally showed up, his chunin vest looking damp and… orange paint stuck in the crevices. Ah. Naruto’s latest victim. Without preamble or waiting for us to settle down he began listing off names in teams and my previous anxiety returned fourfold. It didn’t help that I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t even have that much of a desire to become a shinobi. But my family was adamant.

The Meizen family herb and flower shop didn’t do nearly as well as the Yamanaka’s even though we’d been doing it for much longer, simply because shinobi tended to trust the wares of shinobi. (Hmph. As if some head-shrink’s de-stressing after-hours hobby was more reliable than generations of toil.) Ugh, I’m sounding like my grandma. She was the only one against sending me off to the academy to bring our business more credibility. But as the eldest daughter my father argued it was my duty to do what was best for the family and since he didn’t want to wait until I was old enough to marry a shinobi he made me become one instead.

And here I was: about ready to bite my nails off from nerves, and getting my first team assignment to become a real ninja.

“Team four: Minamitsu Meizen,” My head snapped up to attention, “Natsui Yuhi, and Tsumu Aburame.”

I glanced over at my new teammates and blinked. Did thinking about them as teammates make it happen? No, I picked them at random; it was completely natural. It didn’t feel like one of my visions and those two definitely never appeared even vaguely in any of my memory-not-memories. This wasn’t at all like the time I dreamed in cold black and white the night of the Kumo alliance.

I finally slumped in my chair in relief. I wasn’t on Gai’s team. I didn’t replace a character. I leaned my arms behind my head, content to be a simple butterfly causing tornadoes across the world. I didn’t need to be in the eye of the Ultimate Ninja Storm.

Jonin came one by one, called their team numbers and took their genin away. Maito Gai made his DYNAMIC ENTRY!!! And slowly but surely the classroom emptied out. Then all that was left was us: team four and our homeroom teacher, and he too eventually had to leave. Tsumu and Natsui and I chatted while we waited, discussing our skills and weaknesses and what we hoped to learn.

“If you put more effort into your appearance you could be a very good infiltrator Minamitsu. And as long as your indecisiveness doesn’t appear in battle Natsui, I think you could be a fine shinobi.” Tsumu commented, pleased with both of us when we didn’t show disgust at his bugs.

Accustomed and amused by Tsumu’s unintentionally backhanded compliments I merely quietly thanked him and watched to see what Natsui’s reaction would be. It was confusion.

“How am I indecisive?”

Tsumu nodded and held up a finger, eager to coach a fellow comrade into better self-knowledge. “For short term decisions like what you want for lunch you are quick, but long term you don’t know what you want. How do I know this? You have many girls vying for your attention but you can’t seem to choose one of them.”

_Ooh_ , Tsumu must’ve been  _really_  proud of his conclusion to be falling onto the old Aburame question-and-answer verbal tic. A _dor_ able. But how was Natsui going to react? I hoped for the sake of the team that it wasn’t bad. Natsui was more popular than the two of us put together, and if this was going to work he would have to get used to our weirdness’s. To my happy surprise Natsui burst out laughing.

“I don’t choose one because I’m not interested in romance.” He explained once through with his bout of giggles. “But I’m glad you think I could be a good ninja.” He sent his charming smile at both of us. “I’m glad you guys are both on my team. We haven’t really hung out much and it’s always nice to make new friends.”

Tsumu blushed behind his Kelly scarf and mumbled, “Agreed.” I smiled and nodded. The three of us talked on and on, and I learned a lot about my teammates. Tsumu’s favorite colors were red and green but only wore green because it wasn’t as flashy. Natsui admitted his parents weren’t so pleased that he had decided to follow in his aunt’s footsteps but he hoped that through following his dream he could reconcile Kurenai with the rest of the family. I told them how becoming a ninja wasn’t really my idea: that I was mostly doing it for my family and that I was more interested in the investigative side of shinobi work than combative. They were both surprisingly supportive of my preference.

“Your dedication to your family is admirable, both of you.” Tsumu said solemnly.

I nodded along and didn’t mention my dedication was really towards my own ass cheeks.

After an hour or so passed and no one had come to pick us up, I began to get worried. “You think they forgot?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t underestimate our sensei so.” Tsumu said. “This is probably a test of patience.”

We took that explanation easily and I settled back to observe my new teammates chat. Another hour passed and it was just by chance I was looking at the door when he came in.

My eyes unfocused and another vision superimposed on my now blurry sight.

 

_An eraser dropping on his head. My first impression of you… I hate you. Iruka looking worried: Kakashi has never passed a single team! Someone, (the Hokage? A faceless chunin?) assuring him: in hindsight, all the teams he failed ended up…_ something _I trust his judgement._

 

I blinked as my eyes cleared to the present and felt my stomach twist.

Kakashi Hatake surveyed us with his lone eye and I tensed. We must be one of the previous teams he failed. On the one hand maybe I could use this as an excuse to get out of being a shinobi? On the other hand who was I kidding, of course not and I’m not likely to get as good a team the second time around.

My mind was awash with the implications as we did our standard introductions:

I, Minamitsu like puzzles, hate lost puzzle pieces, read mysteries for fun and dreams of living to see my baby brothers and little sisters grow up and fall in love.

Tsumu likes worms, hates people who stomp on worms, sneaks anonymously written self help books into the library and wants to share with the world the therapeutic qualities of buzzing sounds.

Natsui likes his aunt, dislikes Asuma Sarutobi, enjoys shopping and meeting people and dreams of uniting civilians with shinobi, a.k.a. get his dad to talk to his aunt again.

And then Kakashi told us about the second test and left.

 

When I told my father who my new sensei was he was thrilled. When I told him about the test that no one had ever passed he was ecstatic. “You’ll be the first then!” He said.

“And… if I fail the test like everyone else?” I asked. He gave me a look that said I knew exactly what would happen if I failed. Punishment in front of my siblings.

I don’t know what it said about me that I wanted to be a shinobi so that my father wouldn’t spank me.

… 

Training ground three. Countless images overlapped my sight as I looked at the familiar landscape that I had never been to. Mostly I saw shades of orange and blue, flickering pictures of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, the team seven that was to be- other people sometimes overlapping or taking Sakura’s place. Those people were like me, intruders in this world. I shook my head, pushing all divinatory thoughts aside, squared away in a back corner of my mind. That information was obscure, contradicting and unreliable, like vague recollections of a story with hundreds of variations. It is better to focus on the data at hand and compare it later to things I think I know.

When Kakashi finally arrived I raised my hand. “So sensei, yesterday you said this test has a 66% failure rate. How many teams have you tested?” 

He seemed casually pleased that we didn’t all leap into action right away. “About six.”

“So two of them passed?” Natsui asked.

Kakashi smiled down at us condescendingly. “No they all failed.”

“Sensei, I don’t think you understand statistics. That would mean this test is 100% failure rate.” Tsumu stated. I wanted to high five him for that probably unintentionally patronizing comeback.  _You show 'em Tsumu!_

As expected though, Kakashi didn't react to the quip. “Well jonin get to pick their own tests. Overall 66% of students fail those tests. Mine just happened to be much harder.” Kakashi explained, still in the same bored tone.

“Why though?" I mumbled to myself. When everyone looked at me I realized I'd spoken out loud. "Do you not want to have a team?” I clarified. Kakashi only answered with a smile and a shrug. I narrowed my eyes as another thought came to me. “Or did they send us to you because they wanted us to fail?” 

“Maa, why so negative?" Kakashi asked, amused. "Maybe they sent you to me because they thought you’d be the first to pass.”

My eyes narrowed further and I crossed my arms in a thinking pose. “I doubt it. None of us are particularly remarkable, no offense, especially in the combat department which you are famous for." I tilted my head and squinted at Kakashi, filtering out all visions of him to just see him how he is then. "…Sensei, do you  _want_  to lead a team of reckless heavy hitters? You have a larger than life reputation but in person you present yourself with a smaller than life attitude." I observed. "You’re a big asset to the village and they’re probably eager for you to pass on your skills. But you’ve failed all your teams so you're either waiting for a perfect team or don’t want one at all. Considering you act in a way that downplays your skills I’m guessing you don’t want a team… but the village probably wants you to have a perfect frontline team. Our class didn’t really have any of those, but I guess Neji, Lee and Tenten are all relatively close range fighters… And yet Maito Gai got that team, not you. So  _we_ , as arguably the  _least_  well suited to your skill set, got assigned to you.  _But why_? Do they want  _us to fail_ , or want  _you_ to fail _us_?" By then I was getting really into the puzzle of it and my teammates were watching my thought process impressed. "Sensei," I asked, "did you have a choice in testing us?”

“Not really." Kakashi admitted. "All jonin who have never taken on a genin team are required to test genin hopefuls.”

“Huh, and I doubt they’d make an exception even if it suited their own goals." I rolled my eyes, thinking of my mother’s reason for never letting me off chores even when I was tired from training; "Once one person gets out of something everyone else will want to. But why wouldn’t they want you to have a team? It's true that short term you are more valuable unencumbered by inexperienced students but long term… oh,  _long term!_  There’s no one in  _this_  class they want you to teach so they sent you a team you would  _obviously_  fail so that you would be free for  _next_  year! Tsumu, your cousin is in the class below, who do you think they’re gunning for Kakashi sensei to teach?” I asked, excited.

“The Uchiha most likely. And perhaps Inuzuka.” Tsumu suggested.

“Oh! Maybe Hinata Hyuga!” Natsui supplied. “She’s my aunt’s apprentice now but Kurenai isn’t a jonin yet.”

“That makes sense that they’d want the Nin of a thousand Jutsu to teach two dojutsu users." I added, complementing my teammates' choices. "So sensei, what kind of team do  _you_  want? If you fail us then you’re definitely going to get the village’s dream team next year. And I don’t think it is politically safe to fail three clan heirs.”

“You know, I think I like you three." He told us. "Minamitsu was it? You know how to look underneath the underneath.” Kakashi gave his famous eye-smile. “You pass!”


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi woke to obnoxious knocking on his door at absurd o’clock in the morning. He responded in an instant, snapping to alertness with an ease that spoke of years spent sleeping in hostile territory, and yanked open his door to the sight of a harried and nervous looking genin courier. Oh. Was it that time of year already? Kakashi’s eyes flicked down to the files held proffered in the courier’s quaking hand then back at the genin and considered simply slamming the door in their face. It was way too early for this. Kakashi didn’t want a team and no matter how many hours in advance they gave him the notice he’d still pointedly show up even more hours late. That’s the way he worked and waking him up earlier and earlier each year wouldn’t change that.

“U-um-,”

Kakashi refocused on the ninja before him and sighed. No use stabbing the messenger as they say. He mercifully took the files out of their lax grip. _Then_ he slammed the door in their face.

Looking over the three academy graduates’ files as he slumped back to bed, Kakashi was hardly impressed. Two civilians with average scores and an Aburame whose chakra stores were barely big enough to support his hive. What were they thinking? Oh well, all the better for him if this team didn’t cut it. Kakashi went back to sleep.

Twelve hours and five minutes later, Kakashi left the classroom with barely any impression of his prospective students at all. They weren’t worth remembering he thought. The next day would find his opinion changed drastically.

 

Kakashi found the civilian girl’s deductions to be rather impressive, if simply in a cute, amusing way. It was fun hearing her out but he didn’t give it much credit beyond a passing urge to recommend her to intelligence once he failed her. Then he remembered the paperwork that would require and decided the girl’s reasoning wasn’t _that_ noteworthy. That is, until-

“-oh,  _long term!_  There’s no one in  _this_  class they want you to teach so they sent you a team you would  _obviously_  fail so that you would be free for  _next_  year!” she exclaimed.

Kakashi stilled as his mind honed to a razor focus. Who was graduating next year? What was he forgetting?

“…The Uchiha most likely.” SnarkyClueless – _Tsumu?-_ said in response to some query.

Kakashi felt ice go down his spine. Right, and if _he_ was graduating next year then so was-

“Maybe Hinata Hyuga!” The pretty boy added. “She’s my aunt’s apprentice now but Kurenai isn’t a jonin yet.”

Right. This kid’s, - _Natsui’s-_ aunt was that terrifying genjutsu mistress. Yet another nail in the coffin.

"So sensei, what kind of team do  _you_  want? If you fail us then you’re definitely going to get the village’s dream team next year. And I don’t think it is politically safe to fail three clan heirs.”

Kakashi felt the lid slamming shut, his fate sealed. Mentally going over all the girl- _Mitsu?_ –said, Kakashi found his choice incredibly clear. He didn’t want to be part of another genin team that would be shunted recklessly off to the frontlines to be killed. He did not want anything to do with the last Uchiha and his sensei’s son and the ghosts that hung around them. For the first time Kakashi actually looked at the students before him.

Tsumu, small for his age, was earnest if awkward. Doe-eyed Natsui was innocently attentive and the girl- _Mina?_ -sensible and intelligent with her hair held back in a short braid. They got along well, listened to each other, acted respectfully (for the most part) and thought for themselves.

“You know, I think I like you three." Kakashi was surprised to find he was telling the truth. "Minamitsu was it?” he inwardly sighed when she confirmed he got her name right. “You know how to look underneath the underneath.” Kakashi gave his famous eye-smile. “You pass!”

The training he then put them through then consisted of finding their limits by mercilessly and thoroughly pushing them past them. It was the type of training to make Gai proud.

Natsui was perfectly average all around though had picked up a few genjutsu from his aunt. Tsumu was surprisingly proficient in offensive hand-to-hand but had no stamina for ninjutsu and of course as an Aburame he was incapable of genjutsu. Minamitsu interestingly enough was a fantastic defensive fighter with commendable reflexes in dodging but like most civilians hesitated to hit back. They all could work on their endurance but that was to be expected from fresh graduates. By the end of the day Kakashi was pleased and the genin were wrecked.

“Remember to take ice baths everyone. You’ll be too sore to move unless you do!” He actually chirped at their misery. “In fact, all of you; go jump in that river.” Kakashi watched gleefully as his adorable genin complied. What obedient little students he had!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so not much plot development yet, but It'll get there, promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got 15 pages due for class in two days, so what do I do? I write fan fiction. You guys are lucking out because of my procrastination abilities.

Training with Kakashi was… intense, to put it politely. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him _sadistic_ , (that adjective was reserved in my mind for my little sister Chimomo and my little brother Chikatomo when he was feeling especially jealous), but it was a near thing. The day flew by in a blur of burning lungs, protesting muscles and tingling chakra. I didn’t dare complain for fear of him changing his mind on us, even as we were barely given enough time between exercises to not pass out. So it was only as I floated on my back in the frigid water of the Naka, staring at the sky stained sorbet from the setting sun, hands clasped tightly with my teammates to keep us from drifting apart that I had the change to breathe… and think.

I made it as genin. I also irrevocably screwed up cannon… but what even was that anyway? I had thousands of timelines in my head and no idea which, if any, was the ‘right’ one. Already there was one thing decidedly different from all the stories I knew, and that was the lack of bell-test. It was the one thing that remained consistent and yet, _apparently_ , was wrong? Not a good mark in favor of the reliability of these weird premonition-memory things. No matter, I’d already been semi-ignoring them my whole life (lest I go mad) anyway. This was just more evidence to continue doing the same.

Despite my confusion, aching body and exhaustion, I was happy. I squeezed my teammates’ ( _teammates!_ ) hands and they squeezed back. It’s not like any of us had the capacity for talk during the brutal training, but there’s a sense of camaraderie that comes from seeing each other pushed to the point you were a pink, panting mess of sweat, and I think we all gained some respect for each other with how hard we worked today. I felt Natsui’s heartbeat in his palm and Tsumu’s beetles buzzing, happily fed beneath his skin.

Alas, all good things come to an end, and eventually as the heat of the day faded with the sun and the chill of the water worked its way into our tired bodies, we conceded it was time for us to go. We each trudged ungracefully to the bank, sopping wet and shivering, and went our separate ways.

My walk home was uneventful and I was undisturbed but for the thoughts still swirling in my head. Though I was definitely glad to finally be on my way to bringing credibility to the family business and getting my father off my back, I couldn’t help but be wary of what the ninja lifestyle had in store for me. Besides conflicting premonitions of possible futures and pasts, my ‘other self’ gave me a vastly different set of morals than what was typical. Violence just seemed distasteful. Would having Kakashi as my sensei get in the way of my intentions to focus on stealth and subterfuge? Or did he take us on for the sole purpose of avoiding getting a front line team like I’d assumed? It was so tempting to compare this Kakashi to the ones in my memories but I knew that would only confuse me more.

My musings had to be cut off as I neared my house. I needed to focus on analyzing the safest approach. My six little siblings had no doubt staged an ambush for me and while I usually had enough skill to dodge all their attacks, (as befitting of a ninja, my mother would say,) today I was just too tired. Being the eldest of seven was such a pain.

Two tactics easily came to mind. First, I’d climb in through the window, assuming Chika hadn’t stationed anyone there. Seeing as that was unlikely, I’d probably have to go with the second option: coming in the front door under henge. I cringed at just the thought. Usually the simple jutsu was barely any effort but after today’s training I’d be hard pressed to pull off an illusory clone, and that was the least chakra intensive of the academy three.

Kakashi sensei had informed us, much to Tsumu’s embarrassment, that my shortest teammate’s chakra reserves were too small to both feed his hive and safely perform ninjutsu. His solution was to divide the beetles between Natsui and I for the triple benefit of efficiently draining us to build up our stamina, allow Tsumu the much needed time for ninjutsu practice, and give his coils a rest so that he too could hopefully increase his reserves. It was effective strategy to train all of us at once, but right now I wished I’d been left with a little more energy. I wasn’t keen on getting tackled into a tickle fight right now. I was wet and tired and hungry, already smelling my favorite food being prepared in celebration for my passing the copy-nin’s impossible nonexistent test.

Well, nothing to it then. I’d just have to rely on stealth. I took a breath, suppressed my presence and began the expedition home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is a cheeky bastard who loves trolling people entirely too much

As soon as training got out, Kakashi received a summons to appear before the Board of Team Placements.

No, actually that’s a lie.

Kakashi got the summons in _the middle of training,_ (which, would you look at that, they lasted a whole hour longer than last year), and his good mood _almost_ had him consider responding immediately. Then he an idea about an absolutely devious exercise he could put the genin through and discarded any thought of leaving. Besides, that old bastard Tanaka had been badgering him for _years_ to take on a team. Considering how _pleased_ he’d be that Kakashi had finally taken one on, he was sure Tanaka wouldn’t mind waiting until the day was done.

So only once Kakashi watched his students trod off like sad, wet kittens, he began an unhurried stroll to the village center and Office of Team Management. 

“Yo.”

Kakashi wished he’d had his sharingan uncovered to forever encapsulate the glorious spit-take manager Tanaka performed at Kakashi’s casual entrance more than six hours later than required. Bright red hibiscus tea spewed forth from the old veteran’s mouth like blood from a slashed artery and fanned across the desk, creating a vivid arced stain over the copious papers meticulously arrayed there. Kakashi surveyed the mess he’d instigated with a single casual syllable with unsuppressed malicious glee.

“ ** _HATAKE!!!_** ” Manager Tanaka roared once his coughing had subsided, slamming his hands on the desk and standing up. “Where the _hell_ have you been?!”

Kakashi feigned surprise at the reaction. “Me? Why, I’ve been training my team of course.”

“Your _what_?”

“My team.” Kakashi repeated innocently. “You know, the one you assigned me this morning at approximately… oh, 2:00 am?”

The manager stared at him in mute horror.

“You know, if you’re getting so forgetful in your old age Tanaka, maybe you should retire.”

Kakashi watched in amusement as the older man slowly sunk back down in his chair. “Of _all_ the promising students we sent your way, you had to choose these… these _nobodies,_ hardly worth anyone’s time? Why do you hate me so much Hatake?”

“Ma, I don’t _hate_ you Tanaka.” He thoughtfully tapped his masked chin. “I just feel like _no one deserves to be left behind_ , don’t you agree? After all, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.”

Tanaka ignored the condemnation as only a man secure in his convictions could. It was, after all, a continued point of contention between him and Kakashi. Arguing would neither bring back the dead nor make Tanaka believe that he did anything wrong. He groaned, heedless of the mild KI exuding from the copy nin. “But these kids are talentless!”

Kakashi pulled out his book. “Hmm. Is that so?”

“ _Yes,_ and you would agree if you weren’t being so contrary. You _will_ get them to promotion level by the next exams so that you’ll be free to teach the next round of graduates.” Tanaka asserted.

Turning a page, Kakashi smirked. “Ma I’m flattered you think I can do that your honor, but as you say, they _are_ rather talentless.”

“Then we will find someone to offer additional teaching.” The manager sighed, rubbing his temples. “They will all become chunin as soon as possible.”

“Are you sure?” Kakashi looked up with faux concern. “I thought you said they weren’t worth the time?”

“Well what do _you_ suggest I tell Lord Third and the Elder Advisors next year when you aren’t available to teach the Uchiha and fox brat?”

“I suppose that’s up to you isn’t it?” Kakashi said, slipping away his book. “Now just remember there’s no more need to wake me up so early anymore. I did, after all, finally accept a team!” And with a cheeky wave and a puff of chakra smoke, Kakashi left the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if Kakashi is out of character? I mean he is kinda being an asshole. Then again Tanaka did leave a teammate behind and get them killed and is pretty callous about these genin's careers. Let me know if you think this Kakashi is charmingly irritating or super jerk extraordinaire.   
> Also we're prolly never gonna see Tanaka again. I just put an OC in there because I find it hard to believe that every ninja would report directly to the Hokage in regards to every little thing. Ciao!


	5. Chapter 5

“Kakashi sensei,” Tsumu panted, voice strained like he was trying not to puke, “Can we… take a break? Please?”

Natsui was fairing little better, his complexion tinged green from his upside-down position hanging next to me. He was wisely keeping his mouth shut though.

“Hmm… ten more!” Kakashi chirped in response.

I grunted like a pig as I tried to eek out one more sit-up. Once I got half way there my core muscles spasmed and I grabbed the pole we were all hanging off, letting out a mighty groan. Swears are scientifically proven to increase pain tolerance, but considering all my younger siblings I couldn’t quite break the habit of using sound effects instead. Sweat poured off my face, cheeks flushed red from both the effort and the blood pooling to my head. If Tsumu asking politely didn’t work, then it was time to come up with another tactic.

“Sensei” I managed to croak, frustration and exhaustion coloring my tone, “why are you pushing us so hard? If we make chunin too fast you’ll be stuck with team terror.” I’d promised myself not to rely on my dubious foreknowledge (as I’d begun to call it) to make assumptions about the people around me but it still tinged my perceptions and right now Kakashi was making no sense.

My question only got me a damned eye-smile in response. “I’ll also be stuck with them if you die, so let’s whip those weak little bodies into shape.”

“Are we really that bad?” I whined, but let myself down for another round nonetheless. It felt like the heat of my face could cook an egg as all the blood once again rushed to my face. There had to be some way to control that with chakra.

“Awe, Mitsu-chan!” Kakashi chastised, “Use that analytical mind of yours. You figured out the reason behind your assignment to me without even trying. What do you think your class ranking would be?”

“Um.” I actually began to think; letting the mental exercise distract me from the physical pain I was in. “Well I already know we’re not at the top because they wouldn’t want to give you anyone who would have a high chance of passing. We’re not at the bottom though because then you would have immediately guessed that they didn’t want you to pass us. I already guessed we’re basically average, but considering how you told us they really didn’t want you to take us on… maybe we’re the lower end of average?”

“That’s right.” Kakashi sensei cooed, condescension dripping from his tone. “You’re the worst team they could have chosen without me getting suspicious. Long story short, I don’t think we have anything to worry about you becoming chunin too soon.”

Wow, none of my memories ever depicted Kakashi as such an asshole. (Yet another strike against their validity. Was none of this extra information stuffed in my head necessary? Was all this just some delusion stemmed from lifetime overexposure to some of my family’s more toxic plants?) Whatever, all ninja are a bit insane anyway and it’s not like I actually care about rank or think that my ninja abilities are a reflection of my self worth. If I did, I’d have a majorly bruised ego. No, since just being a ninja was good enough for my family, it’s good enough for me. No one said I had to be a particularly strong ninja.

“TEN!” Natsui suddenly screeched, almost causing me to fall on my head. “I did ten, after you said to do another ten! Can I stop now? Please?”

“Oh?” Kakashi asked, “and what about you two, Mitsu, Tsumu? How many have you done?”

My mind shuttered as I tried to come up with a number. Tsumu was frozen beside me though the share of his bugs that were stuck to my skin started vibrating like mad.

“Lost count?” A feeling of doom and darkness emanated from Kakashi sensei with an evil little chuckle. “Then I guess there’s nothing to it. Another set of ten!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this explains a bit better Kakashi's motivation for training them so hard. I'm still struggling a bit with plot so for now the fic will probably focus on team dynamics and character development. If you have plot suggestions though I'm all ears and am open to suggestions.


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